PRELIMINARY SYLLABUS 
                     Intermediate Microeconomics 
                       BC3035 (02), Fall 2020 Intensive B 
                      Barnard College, Columbia University 
                                 
      INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Lalith Munasinghe 
      EMAIL: lm25@columbia.edu 
      OFFICE: MLC 1013 
      OFFICE HOURS: TBA 
       
      CLASS HOURS: MTWR 2:40PM – 3:55PM 
      CLASS ROOM: Zoom 
       
       
      COURSE DESCRIPTION:  
      This course introduces students to fundamental concepts in microeconomics: Preferences and 
      demand; production, cost, and supply; behavior of markets in partial equilibrium; resource 
      allocation in general equilibrium; pricing of goods and services under alternative market 
      structures; implications of individual decision-making for labor supply; income distribution, 
      welfare, and public policy. Additional applied microeconomics topics including decision-
      making under uncertainty, signaling, game theory, investments in human capital. Emphasis 
      on critical thinking and problem solving. 
       
      PREREQUISITES: 
      An introductory course in microeconomics or a combined macro/micro principles course 
      (ECON BC1003 or ECON W1105, or the equivalent) and one semester of calculus or ECON 
      BC1007, or permission of the instructor. 
       
      LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 
        (1) Show fluency in the basic concepts, models and tools of microeconomic and 
          macroeconomic theory. 
        (2) Think critically about economic phenomena and economic debates by using multiple 
          kinds of texts, evidence and conceptual approaches. 
        (3) Apply economic reasoning to understand the causal determinants of economic 
          events, empirical regularities, and policy proposals. 
       
      REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION: 
     8 problem sets, 2 midterms and a comprehensive, cumulative final. Problem sets will receive a 
     check+, check, or check-, and solutions will be posted on Canvas soon after the PSs are 
     collected. Hence no late problem sets will be collected. 
       Grading: 
       10% Problem Sets 
       25% Midterm 1 
       25% Midterm 2 
       40% Final Exam 
      
     HONOR CODE: 
     The honor code will be strictly enforced. Approved by the student body in 1912 and updated 
     in 2016, the Code states: 
       We, the students of Barnard College, resolve to uphold the honor of the College by engaging with 
       integrity in all of our academic pursuits. We affirm that academic integrity is the honorable 
       creation and presentation of our own work. We acknowledge that it is our responsibility to seek 
       clarification of proper forms of collaboration and use of academic resources in all assignments or 
       exams. We consider academic integrity to include the proper use and care for all print, electronic, or 
       other academic resources. We will respect the rights of others to engage in pursuit of learning in 
       order to uphold our commitment to honor. We pledge to do all that is in our power to create a spirit 
       of honesty and honor for its own sake. 
      
     RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOKS: 
     I will provide lecture notes for all of my classes. These notes will be posted in the Syllabus 
     section under the various Sessions. The notes are based on the following textbooks, which are 
     not required but are recommended. Any recent edition would be fine. 
       Walter Nicholson, Intermediate Microeconomics (non-calculus) 
       Walter Nicholson, Microeconomic Theory (calculus based) 
       Hal Varian, Intermediate Microeconomics 
      
     COURSE OUTLINE: 
     Session 1 – Introduction 
     Sessions 2 to 4 – Consumer Theory 
     Session 5 – Application of Consumer Theory 
     Sessions 6 to 8 – Demand Theory 
     Session 9 – Theory of Revealed Preference 
     Session 10 – Market Demand & Elasticity 
     Session 11 – Midterm 1 
     Sessions 12 to 13 – General Equilibrium Analysis 
     Session 14 – Short Run Producer Theory 
     Session 15 – Long-Run Producer Theory 
     Session 16 – Cost Minimization 
     Session 17 – Short-Run Supply Curve 
     Session 18 – Pricing in Competitive Markets 
     Session 19 – Monopoly Markets 
     Session 20 – Market Separation & Perfect Price Discrimination 
     Session 21 – Midterm 2 
     Session 22 – Pricing Policies with Market Power 
     Session 23 – Decision Making under Uncertainty 
     Session 24 – Investments in Human Capital 
     Session 25 – Information Asymmetry: Adverse Selection & Job Market Signaling 
     Session 26 – Review 
      
     TEACHING STYLE AND TIPS: 
     1.  Class participation is very much encouraged. I also ask questions during class and you 
       should feel free to seek clarification if something I say is unclear or confusing. Please turn 
       off all your devices. 
     2.  It is absolutely essential to keep up with this course. It is a course that builds on concepts 
       previously studied. There is very little reading material, but you must understand the 
       concepts involved thoroughly, i.e. in a foundational sense. You should concentrate on 
       following the lectures closely because it makes the learning process very efficient. I also 
       recommend reading the lecture notes in advance of each class and reviewing them after 
       class. If the material I present in class is unclear, it is better to clarify things expressly. 
     3.  This course is one of the most central courses in your economics program. It is this course 
       that is a prerequisite for many of the more interesting upper level topics courses that you 
       would want to take. 
     4.  The approach will be non-cookbook. The objective is to teach you how to think critically 
       about economics . . . and my lectures will not be a recipe on how to solve your problem 
       sets. The problem sets are an integral aspect of your learning and the lab sections are 
       designed to help you with this aspect of the course. 
     5.  After we finish the basic theory of the consumer, producer, markets, and GE, I will focus on 
       doing some applied topics including some of the following: a case study of the crude oil 
       market, real world pricing policies, information asymmetry, decision making under 
       uncertainty, and why do dancers smoke. These latter topics will hopefully demonstrate the 
       relevance of micro theory to some real-world issues that might interest you a bit more than 
       the abstract theory that we must learn first.